Title: Off the Beaten Path
Author: texaspeach
Rating: PG – Due to the large number of authors participating in this event, rating is subject to change at any time.
Disclaimer: None of the authors taking part in this Round Robin claim to own Dragonball/Z/GT.
Summary: Round Robin. Gohan and Videl get lost in the woods, and Videl doesn't know about Gohan's powers! What's a demi-Saiyan to do? (donated by texaspeach)
Last time on Off the Beaten Path:
Videl was sick, he was actually LOST and… how could things possibly get ANY worse?
Chapter 15:
The second he thought that, Gohan groaned. He should have known better than to let that thought escape – it was Murphy's Law just waiting to happen. Particularly the version that said that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong at the most inopportune moment possible.
A drop of rain landed on the demi-Saiyan's head and he looked up at what sky he could see through the trees, cursing his luck. The clouds were a dark silvery grey, promising a heavy downpour that the two teenagers would be stuck in if Gohan couldn't find shelter soon. Sighing, he hefted Videl into a more secure position and began to trudge in a random direction.
Piccolo's voice filled Gohan's mind with welcome information. If you go another mile or so, there's a cave. Not deep enough for wild animals to use, but it goes back enough that you'll be out of the rain. I don't want to be screamed at by your mother again – my ears tend to bleed.
Thanks, Piccolo! Gohan smiled happily and broke into a run, carefully shielding his precious burden from bushes, briars and the rain that was beginning to fall harder with each step. He found the cave nearly a minute later, gently placed Videl on the ground away from the entrance, and dashed back out again, gathering chunks of semi-dry wood to build a fire. A ki blast would be able to start it.
By the time the amount of wood gathered (with an occasional check on Videl) had satisfied him, Gohan was soaked to the bone. Deciding that Videl probably wouldn't be waking any time soon, he stripped down to his boxers and lit some of the wood before laying his clothes out next to it and sitting down next to Videl. He frowned at her flushed face and slightly wheezy breathing, placing the back of a hand on her forehead and frowning harder at the temperature.
Not knowing what else to do, the hybrid took his shirt and put it in the rain, letting it soak up the cold liquid before returning to his friend's side and beginning to do a sort of half sponge bath on the flesh that was exposed. Though he'd seen a willow a mile back or so, he didn't want to risk Videl being allergic to the anti-inflammatory agent in the bark, the agent that had birthed aspirin. The best he could do at the moment was what he was doing. She woke up once or twice, but not for more than a minute and definitely not coherent enough to realize that she was practically in Gohan's lap while he was clad in nothing but his underwear.
Gohan often found himself staring at her facial features while he was attempting to bring her fever down. She really was very pretty, he acknowledged. Her small size, long hair (unusual for a fighter, he thought), and bright blue eyes, not to mention the form underneath the baggy clothes that so few saw, all had guys panting after her. Of course, the fact that her father was rich and famous was the biggest reason most everyone wanted to be friends or more with Videl Satan.
But that wasn't what made Videl, he thought. Videl was the most oxymoronic person he had ever met – she could be nice one second and the next she would do a complete 180 and bite another person's head off. Actually, now that I think about it, she reminds me a bit of Vegeta as he is now, he thought, smirking a bit at the thought of what Vegeta would say if he heard that. Videl tried to hide her caring nature under a tough exterior when she was at school, but it would always shine through thanks to the things she did for the city. Her acceptance of him as a half-human, half-Saiyan being was just the cherry on top. Videl really was a special person, he decided.
The teenager felt her forehead again and smiled in relief. He didn't know how long he had been doing this, but she didn't feel as hot as she had before, so he carefully laid her down and went to go get his pants. He knew exactly how she would react to that little scenario and foresaw a black eye at the very least.
Yawning as he put on the dry (albeit stiff) pants, he checked the sky to see if he could see any end to the rainclouds. Seeing nothing but grey, he shrugged and put some more wood on the fire. He could sense nothing near them for a few miles, and most life outside that range was quiescent, waiting for the rain to pass. He yawned again as he made his way back to Videl and lay down alongside her, making sure that she was nearest to the heat. Trusting his senses to alert him in any change in their environment – whether other life forms or Videl's condition – he let his eyes fall closed. His last thought as he drifted off to sleep? I really hope that Videl doesn't kill me when she wakes up…
Beta'd by ShadowMajin (aka...ShadowMajin on DA)